Jan Masaryk’s London Art Collection Returns to Czech State After 75 Years

Prague, The Gulf Observer: In a solemn ceremony held on Thursday afternoon, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský symbolically received a historic collection of artworks that once adorned the London residence of Jan Masaryk, the former Foreign Minister and son of Czechoslovakia’s founding president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. After more than seven decades in private hands, the 30-piece collection has now officially returned to the Czech Republic.

The artworks, originally acquired by Masaryk and saved following his mysterious death in 1948, were preserved by Lumír Soukup, one of Masaryk’s secretaries, who purchased the collection at auction in an effort to protect the late diplomat’s legacy. The collection remained with Soukup’s family for over four decades, even as they moved from Edinburgh to France. In 2024, his daughter, Mrs. Alenka Soukup, offered the collection to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The French Embassy in Prague facilitated the transfer.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ivan Dubovický, a cultural anthropologist at the Ministry and host of the event, highlighted the collection’s historical and emotional significance.

“Lumír Soukup sacrificed his own resources to preserve this legacy. The fact that it has returned to Prague is a deeply symbolic moment,” Dubovický said.

The collection features works from various historical periods, including a 17th-century engraving by Václav Hollar and a piece by modernist Oskar Kokoschka. Other prominent names in the collection include Mikoláš Aleš and Herbert Masaryk, Jan’s elder brother and a noted painter.

Also featured is a sculpture by Czech artist Jan Štursa, as well as works by Pavla Fořtová-Šámalová, the wife of President Masaryk’s chancellor, further underlining the intimate historical connections behind the art.

Prior to public exhibition, the collection will undergo necessary restoration, expected to take approximately two months. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to unveil the collection at a commemorative exhibition on September 14 at the historic Tuscany Palace — a date of great symbolic importance, marking both the death of Tomáš G. Masaryk in 1937 and the birth of Jan Masaryk in 1886.

“This palace is not only the seat of diplomacy but also a place of history,” Dubovický noted, recalling that Jan Masaryk spent his final days there before being found dead under suspicious circumstances on March 9, 1948, shortly after the Communist coup in Czechoslovakia.

A letter from Mrs. Alenka Soukup, read aloud by Minister Lipavský, expressed her gratitude for the return of the artworks to their rightful home:
“Your Excellency, I’m writing to express my thanks to you for taking the time to publicly inform that the artwork of my father, bought from Jan Masaryk’s flat in London, is now back in Prague. All I would like to add is that I am glad that they have now come home where they belong.”

For many, Jan Masaryk remains an enduring symbol of democracy and a tragic figure in Czech history. The return of his art collection not only restores a part of national heritage but also reinforces the legacy of a statesman whose ideals continue to resonate across generations.